Maverick was originally a surname, possibly a Welsh form of Maurice, or derived from the Welsh phrase Mawr-rwyce, meaning "valiant hero." It has come to mean "independent" thanks to Samuel Maverick, a Texas politician in the 1860s. Maverick refused to brand his cattle, thus leading to the term for an unbranded head of cattle or an independently-minded person. It came into use as a first name in the 1980s, possibly inspired by the US television show Bret Maverick set in the Wild West. It gained popularity in the 1990s with the rise of "western"-type names (Dakota, Cody, Wyatt etc.) and then spiked in popularity in the 2000s when presidential candidates Sarah Palin and John McCain used the term to describe their campaign ethos.See Also: Maurice